"It was about Peter, about Conor, about Stevie, about what they've done for the club"

MUNSTER Rugby interim head coach Ian Costello said their crucial United Rugby Championship victory over Ulster was all about giving the departing trio of Conor Murray, Peter O'Mahony and Stephen Archer the perfect send-off in what is likely to be their final outing in the red jersey at Thomond Park.

Munster scored six tries in easing past interprovincial rivals 38-20, a result which has seen the 2023 URC winners move back into the play-off places in the table.

Munster will need to finish in the top eight in the league table after next weekend's final round of regular season fixtures to secure a URC play-off place and with it qualification for next season's Investec Champions Cup.

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Munster complete their regular season fixtures with a home game against Benetton Rugby at Virgin Media Park, Cork on Friday night next, 8pm, live on TG4 and Premier Sports.

There was a great sense of relief at full-time at Thomond Park on Friday as Munster got back to winning ways.

Ian Costello said: "The biggest relief . . . we all know there's play-offs, we know what's at stake in terms of Champions Cup.

"We know that there's a huge amount of external pressure but actually this week, we went a lot deeper than that. We knew that was there.

"It was about Peter, it was about Conor, it was about Stevie. It was about what they've done for the club, how they deserve to be sent off.

"We had a meeting on the pitch tonight and Tadhg [Beirne] spoke so well and it really captured the whole week around putting a performance out there that reflected how much those lads meant to us and meant to the club. That's more powerful than anything.

"And it probably reflected what those lads meant to us. In a lot of elements, without being perfect, I think we did that. That's the relief."